Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/33

Rh their perilous journey through Persia and Turkestan, round the Caspian Sea and across Mount Caucasus, until at length they settled among the Turks on the borders of Trebizond. Into that province Andronicus, with a body of adventurers, made frequent and successful incursions. While he was absent upon one of them, his castle was surprised by the governor of Trebizond, and Theodora with her two children were captured and sent to Constantinople. To obtain their release Andronicus made abject submission to the emperor; and, appearing in chains before him, implored pardon. This he obtained, and was allowed to retire with Theodora into banishment in the little town of Œnoe, on the shores of the Black Sea, In the emperor Manuel died, and was succeeded by his son Alexis II., a youth of twelve or fourteen years, who was under the guardianship of the empress Maria. Her conduct excited popular indignation ; and the consequent disorders, amounting almost to civil war, gave an opportunity to the ambition of Andronicus. He left his retirement, secured the support of the army, and marched upon Constantinople. Alexis was compelled to acknowlege him as colleague in the empire. The empress was put to death, and her son soon shared the same fate. His dead body is said to have been insulted by Andronicus, but the authorities for this and similar stories are in all probability prejudiced. Andronicus, now sole emperor, married Agnes, widow of Alexis II., a child eleven years of age. His short reign was characterised by strong and wise measures. He resolved to check many abuses, but, above all things, to limit the power of the nobles. The people, who felt the severity of his laws, at the same time acknowledged their justice, and found themselves protected from the rapacity of their superiors. The aristocrats, however, were infuriated against him, and summoned to their aid William of Sicily. This prince landed in Epirus with a strong force, and marched as far as Thessalonica, which he took and destroyed; but he was shortly afterwards defeated, and compelled to return to Sicily. Andronicus seems then to have resolved to exterminate the aristocracy, and his plans were nearly crowned with success. But in , during his absence from the capital, his lieutenant ordered the arrest and execution of Isaac Angelus, a descendant of the first Alexis. Isaac escaped, and took refuge in the church of St Sophia. He appealed to the populace, and a tumult arose which spread rapidly over the whole city. When Andronicus arrived he found that his power was overthrown, and that Isaac had been proclaimed emperor. His offers of a general pardon, and even of abdication in favour of his son, were rejected ; and, after an unsuccessful attempt at escape, he was seized and dragged before the new emperor. Isaac delivered him over to his enemies, and for three days he was exposed to their fury and resentment. At last they hung him up by the feet between two pillars. His dying agonies were shortened by an Italian soldier, who mercifully plunged a sword into his body. He died on the 12th September.  ANDRONICUS II.,, was born. He was the elder son of, whom he succeeded in. During his reign the under conquered nearly the whole of ; and to resist them the emperor called in the aid of, who commanded a. The were defeated, but  was found to be nearly as formidable an enemy to the  power. was in. declared upon Andronicus, and after devastating  and, settled in the  of. From onwards the emperor was engaged in  with his grandson,, in whose favour he was compelled to ,. He retired to a, and died about.  ANDRONICUS III., grandson of, was born about. His conduct during youth was so violent, that his grandfather resolved to deprive him of his right to the. Andronicus rebelled, and in compelled his grandfather to in his favour. During his reign he was engaged in constant, chiefly with the , who greatly extended their conquests. He died in.  ANDRONICUS, a Greek astronomer, about, built at Athens an octagon tower, with figures carved on each side, representing the eight principal winds. A brazen Triton at the summit, with a rod in his hand, turned round by the wind, pointed to the quarter from which it blew. From this model is derived the custom of placing weathercocks on steeples. A consider able portion of this tower still exists ; and, instead of "tower of the winds," it should be called horologium, the name by which it is designated by Varro.  ANDRONICUS, the eleventh scholarch of the Peripatetics, lived about. His chief work was the arrangement of the writings of Aristotle, the materials for which had been supplied to him by Tyrannion. Besides arranging the works, he seems to have written paraphrases and commentaries, none of which have come down to us. Two writings under the name Andronicus are sometimes erroneously attributed to him, one on the Emotions, the other a commentary on Aristotle s Ethics.  ANDROS, or, the ancient Andros, an island of the Grecian Archipelago, the most northerly of the Cyclades, lying 6 miles S.W. of Euboaa, and aboiit 2 N. of Tenos. It is nearly 25 miles long, and its greatest breadth is 10 miles. Its surface is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and well-watered valleys, which produce vines, grain, olives, pomegranates, lemons, figs, and oranges, and supply food for cattle, silk-worms, and bees. At Andros, the capital, a town on the east coast, containing about 5000 inhabitants, there are silk and carpet manu factures, the former of which gives rise to a considerable export trade; but the harbour does not afford accommodation except for vessels of small size, and is much inferior to that of Gaurio (Gaurium) on the west coast, near the ruins of an older Andros, the ancient capital of the island. This Andros, which was situated on the brow of a hill that commands the whole coast, contained a famous temple, dedicated to Bacchus, and a spring that was said to flow with wine during the feast of the god. The island is supposed to contain about 15,000 inhabitants, the bulk of whom belong to the Greek Church. According to the ordinary account, Andros, which is said to derive its name either from Andreus, a general of Rhadamanthus, or from a seer called Andrus, was colonised by the lonians about , and soon became a place of some importance. In, after the battle of Salamis, Themistocles made an attempt to take the capital, wishing to punish the in habitants for their readiness to assist the Persians in their invasion of Greece; and, although he failed in this enterprise, the island afterwards became for a time subject to the Athenians. In it was added to the Macedonian empire; and after the death of Alexander the Great, became part of Ptolemy's kingdom. In it was taken by the Romans, who handed it over to Attains I., king of Pergamos; and in it reverted to the Romans, in accordance with the will of Attalus III. On the dissolution of the empire of the East, Andros came under the rule of the Turks; but now, along with the island of Tenos, it forms a government of the modern kingdom of Greece.  ANDUJAR, a town of Spain, in the province of Jaen, Andalusia, situated near the Guadalquivir, 20 miles N.W. of Jaen. It is a dull, unhealthy place, possessing few buildings of any architectural beauty; but there is a road lead-